Configure Financial Plan Cost Categories

  • Updated

This article explains how to create and manage cost categories for OnePlan. This requires the app 'Financial Plan' is installed. All Cost Categories are configured on this page. Then, later, select which cost categories are shown for each Cost Type.

Go to the Admin pages, select Financial Plan in the navigation. Then, expand the Cost Categories topic heading.

What are Cost Categories?

Expected costs/financial values are entered into various cost categories. A cost category is how costs or gains are broken out into smaller defined classifications or groupings. The cost categories can be separately configured per cost type. For labor cost categories, configure the rate table over time per labor cost category.

Manage Cost Categories

Use the contextual menu to manage your cost categories.

Cost_Categories_Menu.png

  • Add Child Add_Child.png: You can use this to build out a hierarchy of cost categories. However, in reporting, cost category structures are more straight forward if they are in a flat hierarchy (meaning not using parent/children relationships). Instead, use the Cost Category Fields to further distinguish cost categories within a flat hierarchy.

  • Edit Edit.png: Make changes to the cost category Name, External ID, and/or Labor Field

  • Delete Delete.png Click to delete the cost category. Doing so will delete all associated data in that cost category.

  • Rates Rates.png: Rates are applicable for labor cost categories. When configured with rates, the resource plan hours will be converted to labor costs by multiplying by the rates.

  • Move Up Move_Up.png: Click this to rearrange the order of cost categories.

  • Move Down Move_Down.png: Click this to rearrange the order of cost categories.

Add New Cost Category

  1. Click New Cost Category (+).

  2. Complete the New Cost Category form.

    • Name: Enter the name of the cost category.

    • External ID: If this cost category will be mapped to another financial system via integration, enter the ID for this category that matches the other system. This is how data will copy into this specific cost category.

    • Non-Labor Type: Check the check box if the cost type will capture non-labor costs. See notes on Non-Labor Cost Cateogires below for more details.

    • Labor Field: If this is a labor cost category, select the desired resource-level field. See notes on Labor Cost Categories below for more details.

Add_Cost_Category.png

Non-Labor Cost Category

Non-labor financial cost categories refer to project expenses not tied to employee or contractor wages. These include costs for materials, hardware, software, and external services. In financial planning, assigning Work Items to non-labor resources allows their associated costs to be imported directly into the Financial Plan. This streamlines cost tracking and ensures that all expense types—beyond labor—are accurately captured, leading to more comprehensive and reliable budgeting.

Add a Non-Labor Cost Category

  1. Follow the instructions in Add New Cost Category.

  2. Check the Non-Labor Type check box.

  3. Click Save.

Create_Non-Labor_Type.png

Assign the Non-Labor Cost Category to Resources in the Resource Center

After creating the Non-Labor Cost Category, you need to associate generic resources in the Resource Center to this cost category.

Note

Non-labor categorization can only be applied to generic resources.

  1. Go to the OnePlan front end > Resource Center.

  2. Either click Add Resource, and check the Generic check box on the form, OR click Edit next to an existing generic resource.

  3. In the Resource Type field, select the Non-Labor Cost Cateogry that you configured in Add a Non-Labor Cost Category.

  4. Add a Cost associated with the non-labor resource. This value will be used when you import non-labor data into the Financial Planner.

  5. Click Save.

Configure_non-labor_resource.png

Labor Cost Category

When doing labor/resource financial planning, labor costs can be entered directly, or they can be imported in from the resource plan hours. This is when the rates are applicable. The hourly rate is multiplied by the number of hours. Do not add the individual labor categories directly.

For example, if you will do resource cost planning, add a cost category called Labor (or something along those lines). Then, select the desired Labor Field. Each item in that selected labor field will be listed as a cost category under the Labor (or whatever you called it) heading.

Labor_Cost_Category.png

Add a Labor Cost Category

  1. Follow the instructions in Add New Cost Category.

  2. In the Labor Field drop-down, select a resource-level field. If you don't have your desired Resource field created yet, go create the field. Then return to configure your labor cost category.

Add Rate Tables for Labor Cost Categories

For each Labor Cost Category, populate the rate table. Click the Rates icon.

Add_Rate_Table_1.png

  1. Click Add Rate.

    Add_Rate_Table_2.png

  2. Enter the Start Date for the rate. Typically this is the beginning of when data is in the system.

    Add_Rate_Table_Start_Date.png

  3. Enter the End Date, if applicable. If End Date is left blank, the rate will be set ongoing for all future planning periods (months, years, etc.).

    Add_Rate_Table_End_Date.png

  4. Enter the hourly Rate.

    Add_Rate_Table_Rate.png

  5. Click Save to create the rate table.

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